Warranty

Renault Australia has reintroduced a five-year/unlimited km warranty on the Renault Sport Megane - more commonly known as the Megane RS - almost a year after it was reduced to three years. The longer warranty applies to just the Megane RS, which is the only new Renault Sport product on sale in Australia currently - the Clio RS is in runout. Megane RS models purchased after today, May 1st 2019, will feature the five-year warranty as standard, matching the standard Renault range. The reduction to three years' cover came in May 2018 when Renault’s international head office made the call for all Renault Sport products to be equipped with a three-year/unlimited km warranty term. The company received backlash for the move, and is perhaps the reason as to why it has been reinstated. The upgraded warranty of Renault Sport products now matches regular Renault models, as well as competitors from Hyundai, Volkswagen, Skoda, Honda and Ford, along with alliance partner Nissan. The Megane RS is priced competitively for a high-performance hatch, listing at $44,990 plus on-road costs. Perhaps the reinstatement of a longer warranty will help it secure more sales, as it has averaged just 30 cars per month so far in 2019.

Isuzu Ute Australia has announced new warranty terms alongside its MY19 updates to the D-Max ute and MU-X SUV range.The new terms cover both the D-Max and MU-X for a six-year/150,000km period, complete with a six-year roadside assist package.Isuzu has also upped its capped-price servicing program to seven years/105,000km, with a total cost of $3600 over the seven-year period. Services range between $350 and $1110 annually.Isuzu says the limited kilometres on the warranty is due to its research telling it that most Isuzu owners travel less than 25,000km per year.The program represents a marked improvement over the brand’s previous five-year/130,000km warranty, five-year/75,000km capped-price service program and five-year roadside assist.The new warranty is ahead of most mainstream competitors from Ford, Toyota and Nissan, although is still behind the market-returning Korean marque, SsangYong, with its Musso ute and Rexton SUV scoring a market-leading seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty promise and transparent capped price servicing for the duration. Mitsubishi announced a seven-year/150,000km plan for the Triton when it launched earlier this year. The D-Max and MU-X are both powered by a 130kW/430Nm 3.0-litre turbo diesel engine, and in both instances the powertrains require servicing once every 12 months or 15,000km - whichever occurs first.

Do you think Subaru Australia would consider coming to the party like American Subaru and extend warranties in regards to what I believe to be a problem good enough for a recall? My Outback is only 8 years old, I bought it new, and it now is off the road needing to have the torque converter replaced. The quote from Subaru to replace is around the $6500, the part needing to be ordered from Japan. It used to do this kick back sound and the last time it did this I thought someone had thrown a rock at my car it was loud, and then the dash went berserk and the "At oil temp", engine and park lights came on and stayed on, the steering was next to go while I was on the highway. This is an extreme amount of money to spend on a vehicle that is only 8 years old. Any advice on how I can approach Subaru Australia?

The top-10 automotive brands in Australia now offer at least a five-year warranty, with Nissan announcing a new, longer warranty period across its entire range.

My parents, they’re in their 70's, bought a new 2014 Hyundai ix35. It's coming up to the end of its five-year warranty. The radio was never any good and now it's just getting worse. It's just crap. Their dealer told them the radio has only a one-year warranty to avoid replacing it. The car has five-year warranty, surely that includes everything? That's not all, the little tab to adjust the seat broke, and the dealer told my parents they deliberately broke it and charged them around $70 to replace. They're in there 70's. Can we get some help please?

I purchased my 2010 Volkswagen Golf new from a dealership and have had it serviced since I first purchased it in 2011. It is a 118 TSI DSG Golf and has done approx. 148,000 km. The transmission has now failed. Transmissions/gearboxes with this model have been recalled as well. Am I able to make a claim on this at all?

Recently my 2014 Nissan Qashqai overheated and after taking it to Nissan I was informed that it would cost me $300 to top it up with coolant. I'm not happy with their explanation in the shop. That coolant just disappears over time and I'm reluctant to spend that much money without a proper cause so we decided that the car should be pressure tested. This has resulted in finding that the following from Nissan: The heater core has failed and needs to be replaced. The dash assembly, centre console, kick trims and pillar trims will all need to be removed to access the core. The coolant will be drained and the air conditioning will be degassed as the A/C evaporator is in with the heater core. My warranty expired at the end of 2017, but Nissan has offered to pay 50 percent for the repair, parts and labour as a good will gesture. The offer is valid until the end of March. 50 percent of the cost will be around $700. Do you think this is reasonable or should I push further? In my opinion a heater core should last longer. The date I drove the car out was March. Because it was a demo model they took the warranty from the first rego.

 

Kia has crunched the numbers to extend its arguably industry-leading seven-year, unlimited kilometre warranty to last a full decade, if market forces deem it necessary.

Renault Australia has joined other local manufacturers such as Kia and SsangYong in offering a seven-year warranty with unlimited kilometre coverage on its Koleos SUV - albeit only until March 31st, 2019.

What are the car make/models that offer 5 and 7-year warranties under 20k? I just noticed a Suzuki Baleno that I'm keen on, but I'm interested in other options first.